Learn more about movement collaboration, social justice & the variety of roles involved in revolution work here, here & here.

Bridget Maria: Based in Cedar Rapids, Bridget's art is centered in intersectional environmentalism. She loves prairies and is often highlighting social injustice and the ways we can better care for our neighbors.

Refuge Studios: Based in Iowa City, Jessica makes art about life and the perceptions of the Midwest that center in her core values of environmental and social advocacy.

Caylin Jayde: Based in Cedar Falls, Caylin makes art that explores environmental concerns, human and nature relationships, and the balance of her local ecosystem.

1. Public libraries (books, movies, games, maker space studios, seed libraries, and SO MUCH more!! Hiawatha's Public Library organizes some of the best swaps.)

2. Free Little Libraries (be sure to check ours at the shop)

3. Matthew 25 Tool Library (everything from drywall jacks to ladders, saws to rakes, pliers to tile saws)

4. CR Anti-Cap Club (skill share workshops, barter menus, & more)

5. Basement Collective (our favorite monthly clothing swaps!)

6. Breathing Room Yoga (seasonal clothing swaps)

7. CR Swap Box (local art)

8. Neighbors, friends, coworkers, family -- get creative, ask around, go out on a limb. You never know what goodies people are willing to gift until you ask. In my experience, people love being generous when given the chance.

• 24/7 Community Resource Cabinet

• Hiawatha Library Community Fridge

• Catherine McAuley Center

• Cultivate Hope Corner Store (produce)

Clothing:

• 24/7 Community Resource Cabinet

• Willis Dady

• Families Helping Families

• Clothing Swaps:

  • Basement Collective (monthly offering)

  • Breathing Room Yoga (seasonal offering)

  • Hiawatha Public Library (Halloween costume swaps & more!)

Home Goods:

• Central Furniture Rescue

• Willis Dady (bedding)

  
  

Books:

• Little Free Libraries

• Sister's Books & Nooks

• Big Brothers Big Sisters

• Friends of the Library:

  • Cedar Rapids

  • Hiawatha

  • Marion

    
    

Art Supplies:

• Create Exchange

• The Free Art Studio (Iowa City)

• Public Space One (Iowa City)

General/Assorted Items:

• Anti-Cap Club

• St. Vincent de Paul

• Going for a walk

• Working in my garden

• Coloring & watching Youtube

• Planting native plants with my friend Anne

• Quilting & Sewing

• Reading

• Working on restoration projects in our 100 year old home

Emily's Favorites:

• Reading (including audiobooks)

• Playing board & card games

• Junk journaling

• Gardening & tending to my houseplants

• Watching the birds at our feeder

• Going on an unplugged walk around the neighborhood

• Visiting my favorite parks/trails

• Gentle yoga at Breathing Room

• Laying on the floor with my feet up against the wall

  
  

Highly recommend reading "A Community Suggested Guide for Nervous System Care" by Talya Miller for more ideas!

Clothing:

• Found + Formed

• The Daisy

• 20 Years Awesome

• Basement Collective

  
  

Craft supplies & housewares:

• The Create Exchange

• Back Porch Pickers

• Artifacts

• The Shop Iowa City

• 223 Vintage Co.

• Good Makers Market (Memorial Day & Labor Day weekend every year!)

Explore Cedar Rapids' local business guide here.

• Feed Iowa First

• 24/7 Community Resource Cabinet

• Hiawatha Library Community Fridge

• Our Future Iowa

• Anti-Cap Club

• Share a Row

• Cultivate Hope Corner Store

• Advocates for Social Justice (ASJ)

• Catherine McCauley Center

In Iowa City:

• Iowa City Mutual Aid

• Table To Table

• Grow: Johnson County

• Resilient Sustainable Future Iowa City (RSFIC)

• Eschucha Mi Vos

Additional spaces to look into: Iowa Mutual Aid Network, Linn County Corridor for Justice Facebook group, food pantries, public libraries, public schools, free little pantries, free little libraries, blood drives, trash cleanup days, social justice groups...

• Anti-Cap Club

• 237 Collective

• Artivists of Iowa

• Basement Collective

• Public Libraries

  • Marion

  • Hiawatha

  • Cedar Rapids

• NewBo City Market

• Indian Creek Nature Center

• Breathing Room Yoga

In Iowa City:

• The Englert Theatre

• Iowa City Flea

• Public Space One

• The Free Art Studio

• Kindred Coffee

• Bur Oak Land Trust

Advocates for Social Justice (ASJ): Creating social, political, and environmental change within the greater Cedar Rapids area.

Our Future Iowa: Equipping emerging leaders with the tools they need to be valued and empowered advocates for justice, sustainability, and equity. Supporting mutual-aid and community-led projects.

Escucha Mi Voz: Empowering immigrant workers to achieve dignity and justice by addressing labor inclusion, discrimination, and informal work conditions. Provides protective accompaniment, rapid response, and legal observer trainings in the corridor.

Indivisible Linn County Metro: Neighbors, advocates, and everyday Iowans standing together to protect democracy, demand accountability, and build a future rooted in justice and equity.

Thomas Park (Marion)

Wanatee Park (Marion)

Indian Creek Nature Center (Cedar Rapids)

Wickiup Hill Learning Center (Toddvillle)

Bird Preserve (Cedar Rapids)

Palisades-Kepler State Park (Mount Vernon)

Prairiewoods (Hiawatha)

Great Plains Action Society: Resisting colonial capitalism and working towards ReMatriation, healing justice, and regenerative economies. Led by Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains region.

Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice: Providing legal services and community empowerment through organizing. Led by Immigrants & refugees in Iowa.

One Iowa Action: Preserving and advancing the rights of LGBTQIA+ Iowans through grassroots efforts, poicy work, voter education, and advocacy.

*Note: I highly recommend reading Chi Nwosu's writing and further exploring the art they create here.

Find all of our favorite reads here.

Borrow the original here.

Find all our favorite reads here.

*Note: I'd recommend the YA version over the original, especially for those not well versed in scientific language or Indigenous knowledge. The YA version includes pictures, diagrams, definitions, and reflection questions that make it easier to understand, while the original can feel a bit dense at times. However, I like the audiobook of the original better because Robin narrates it herself.

-Emily :)

Borrow a copy here.

Find all our favorite reads here.

Local people & places that cultivate a slow fashion mindset: Found + Formed, Basement Collective, Emily Stochl, 237 Collective, Artivists of Iowa, The Create-Exchange, CR Anti-Cap Club, Public Libraries (free access to sewing machines!!)

*If you know of a good seamstress, tailor or cobbler... please reach out to us here or here.

To learn more, explore Emily's favorite resources here.

Borrow a copy here and find further recommendations here.

Plus, learn about disability justice in the outdoors with Disabled Hikers and Birdability. *Note: The Indian Creek Nature Center often hosts an accessible birding experience with Birdability each spring! Find past event details here.

Intersectional Sustainability:

• Lauren Bash (@relauren): climate activist, new mom & storyteller, based in Los Angeles, CA

• Emma Dendler (@thesimpleenvironmentalist): low waste living & everyday activism, based in CA

• Brooke Bowlin (@secondhand.sustainability): "making sustainability approachable through resources, education & inspo," based in Kansas City, MO

Slow living, embracing hobbies, & finding whimsy:

• Leah Thomas (@greengirlleah): "your crafty, earthy girl next door," based in Los Angeles, CA

• Sydney Graham (@hisydgraham): sewing, crocheting, hiking, based in Portland, OR

• Christine Tyler Hill (@christinetylerhill): artist, crossing guard & naturalist, based in Burlington, VT

• Lisa Olivera (@_lisaolivera): writer, therapist, mother, adoptee, & human, based in Sonoma County, CA

• Frankie Simmons (@frankiedoodledandy): "devote of the earth, journaling like a wizard, master naturalist." based in Fort Worth, TX.

  
  

Connecting with Nature:

• Alexis Nikole (@blackforager): foraging teacher & enviromental science enthusiast, based in Columbus, OH

• Kianna Pete (@kianna_pete): Diné, Indigenous Education, Politics & Climate Justice

Oumou Sylla (especially this post on "community building but don't know who to start with?," this post on "care literacy is a community responsibility," and this post on "how can we practice asking our friends and comrades for favors and bids for care")

Kara Pérez (especially this post on "how to actually build community even if you're tired & broke")

Chiara Francesca (specifically this post on relationships)

Our main responsibility is to keep showing up. To commit to learning & unlearning, adapting, and evolving with time. To be aware of the impact of our everyday actions and make the conscious effort to do better when we know better.

What essential role(s) do you play? How will you add to the collective effort?

• Create Exchange

• Public Library Maker Space Studios

  • Cedar Rapids

  • Marion

• Public Space One's Free Library (Iowa City)

• Thrift stores

• CR Anti-Cap Club: Browse people's barter menus or create your own. See what your community is swapping/giving away.

For junk-journaling/collages:

• Create Exchange (especially their stamp selection!!)

• The latest copy of Little Village & free magazines at the library (call ahead or look through the Friends of the Library book nook in Marion)

• Estate sales, thrift stores & Half-Priced Books' magazine section

• Free little libraries, the CR Swap Box, a friend's craft closet... dig through what you have & ask around! Part of the fun is gathering random materials & finding ways to reuse/upcycle them :)

Sydney's Care Menu

Cole's Care Menu

Tayla's Barter Menu

Cedar Rapids Anti-Cap Club

Learn more about care work through the lens of disability justice here.

Need a library card? Apply here!

Plus, find all our recommended reads here.

Further Resources:

• Browse our "Honoring Indigenous Wisdom & Lived Experience" booklist here.

• Learn about the Great Plains Action Society here.

• Attend an upcoming event lead by the Native American Student Association in Iowa City.

• Learn about the Meskwaki Nation's living history here.

• Learn about the Land Back movement here.

*Note: There is no sustainability movement without Indigenous peoples. Indigenous sovereignty & decolonization work must be centered in our own sustainability practices.

OR join the Cedar Rapids Public Library on May 23rd for their Fix it Café! Find event details here.

"This exhibit celebrates the role farming plays in Black resiliency and activism: Farming has played a significant role in Black communities’ struggles and triumphs for economic independence, cultural preservation, and self-determination. Visitors will learn how Black farmers, nationwide and in Iowa, are turning to agriculture as a way to reclaim land, promote sustainability, and address environmental and economic inequalities."

• Iowa's Biological Communities

• Iowa Habitat Loss and Disappearing Wildlife

• Iowa's Nature Series

• Robert F. Eschenfeldt's Ecology Illustrations

Sign up here. Learn more about Echollective Farm here and here.

There are SO MANY folks dedicated to sustainable living & being in relationship with the Earth. Find them at:

• The Indian Creek Nature Center (Cedar Rapids)

• Prairiewoods (Hiawatha)

• Moss (Cedar Rapids)

• Monarch Research Project (Marion)

• Wickiup Hill Learning Center (Toddville)

• Bur Oak Land Trust (Iowa City)

• Resilient Sustainable Future Iowa City (RSFIC)

• Tallgrass Prairie Center (Cedar Falls)

• Iowa Prairie Network

• Wild Ones (Cedar Rapids & Iowa City)

• Iowa City Bird Club (Iowa City)

Find all of our favorite reads here.

Listen to Robin Wall Kimmerer discuss The Honorable Harvest here and read more about her philosophy here. Plus, listen to our perspective of conscious consumption here.

Plus, check out the We Are the Builders! Conversation Guide here.

• Walking the trails at Thomas Park & using my senses (i.e. touching the bark of trees, identifying bird sounds, touching the petals of flowers I know are safe).*

• Laying in the grass (especially barefoot).

• Sitting with my back against a tree & imagining the vast network of roots underneath and the life it has lived. Something about existing with a being older & larger than me is really comforting on hard days.

• Walking around my neighborhood and noticing what animals are present and flowers are in bloom.

• Visiting the Indian Creek Nature Center, Prairiewoods, or Palisades State Park.

When I need to bring the outside in:

• Close my eyes & sit or stand in the sunlight from our windows.

• Open the windows, feel the breeze on my skin & listen to the birds.

• Lay on the couch & watch the birds at our feeder.

• Listen to recorded nature sounds on Insight Timer (Owen's are my favorite, especially this one).

• Junk journal with nature magazines, read nature based-books, or learn how to identify Native flowers in Iowa.

*Note: The main trail at Thomas Park is paved, making it more accessible for strollers and wheelchair users.

Iowa City Bird Club

Iowa Birding